I'm watching RotK now and one can clearly hear the Erebor theme playing as Sam is looking down at Frodo's body after he is stung by Shelob. It's probably just coincidence since the scene has nothing at all to do with the Lonely Mountain, but it makes me wonder if Howard Shore liked the arrangement and decided to reuse it for something grander.

However, it's a little similar to Thorin's theme when he enters Bag End- which is a mix of the Erebor and Shire theme, which is explained by Adams in that it was done to show how Bilbo gives Thorin hope that he may succeed in his quest. I hear more of a lonely shire them in the music when Sam finds Frodo, but I heard a few notes that sound similar (but only for a few seconds).

There is a quote from this scene that is nearly identical to some music heard in AUJ. I could be totally off base, but I believe the theme in question is chiefly related to Thorin. As somebody has already mentioned, it plays as Thorin enters Bag End, and I believe it also plays (in a very heroic, epic manner) in the prologue scene as Thorin leads the dwarves into battle against Smaug. It appears in other places in AUJ, no doubt.

I don't think there is any significance, just a coincidence. I think I read somewhere (on Doug Adams' site), that Thorin's theme and Bilbo's theme are supposed to be linked. Bilbo's theme is a variation on Shire themes, just like the music heard during the Shelob scene is a variant on Shire themes. Maybe that has something to do with it.

to have music on a soundtrack that isn't in the films? I thought the point of soundtracks was so that fans could own the music from what they heard in the films.

I honestly don't know if this a common practice but I can't recall such a thing before.

It's also weird because I much prefer the songs of the soundtrack to what was actually used in the film (particularly for Thorin and Azog's showdown at the end.) Davy Jones could've been Bilbo...I mean he was a Brit with a sense for adventure, singing & dancing. And think of the costs it would've save with forced perspective: he was ACTUALLY 5'3. He also hung out with a grumpy tall dude in a hat (Mike Nesmith.) While we're at it let's just have Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork as Merry & Pippin.

It is very weird. I agree that there are a lot of soundtracks that were better in OST, but I think it sorta balances out with some of the other songs. The eagle rescue song, for instance IMO is much better than the one in the soundtrack. "I have found it is in the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk, that keep the darkness at bay. Simple acts﻿ of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? Perhaps it is because I am afraid, and he gives me courage." - Gandalf the Grey.

"Do not be afraid Mithrandir. You are not alone. If ever you should need my help, I will come." -Lady Galadriel.

Actually the Erebor theme is that heard when we first see Erebor in the film, and which plays repeatedly throughout, often accompanying Thorin's theme.

The track 'Erebor' is somewhat different. I have seen it interpreted as a heroic statement of 'Bilbo's Adventure', which we first hear in 'The World Ahead'. That track also contains a brief passage very similar to part of 'Erebor'. I hope beyond hope that we hear at least some of 'Erebor' in the films at some point though I fear this may have been an alternative main theme for the company, perhaps not intended to feature in its current form.

It's the same "map music" we hear in FotR. I expect this theme to be developed further once we actually get to the Lonely Mountain.

Addressing the thread in general, not just your specific question, I've been listening to the special edition soundtracks with great pleasure---and with several little starts of recognition when a particular phrase reminds me of a similar moment in the LotR soundtracks.

I don't mean the deliberately repeated themes, like the Rivendell theme or the Hobbit theme, or even the brief snatches of familiar melody such as the militant elf music when the elves appear to chase away the wargs and orcs. I mean just a few notes, or the treatment of those few notes, which my semi-conscious mind will continue with some theme from LotR only to have the soundtrack go off in another direction.

Often bands will include demos and b-sides as bonus tracks on their album and the extra tracks on The Hobbit OST are just that. I think they are great and provide a little insight into Shore's process even if they don't end up in the movie. "The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair; and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater."-J.R.R. Tolkien

I have a rather long drive to and from work (45-90 minutes each way depending on traffic) and I can listen to it the entire way (there and back again, haha) and again in the evening at home. Before LOTR, I'd never felt like my soul had been enchanted by any music. But it was then. And again by the music from the first two Narnia movies. And now, more than ever by The Hobbit. I can't explain it. It's just captivating. It never gets old. I can listen to the same song 10 times in a row and it's just as magical to my ears as it was the first time I heard it. My avatar photo is Lake Tekapo in New Zealand's South Island. Taken by me in 2004 on a Red Carpet Tours LOTR Movie Location Tour. 'Twas the Vacation of a Lifetime!

pictures taken while on the tour are here: https://picasaweb.google.com/Kirly7/LOTRNewZealandTour#